Presidential Powers - Essay Example

?Presidential Powers Introduction The ratification of the United s’ constitution in the period of 1787 to 1789 brought about a new system of governance known as the federal system or the devolved system of governance. According to Ginsberg et al, the federal system of governance is whereby power and authority is distributed between the central government and the local/ state governments (98). Under the devolved system of governance, the President’s powers were trimmed and redistributed to the local governments. However, the president still enjoys three sources of power that include constitutional, institutional, and political sources. This present essay will focus on these current sources of power for the presidency and it will begin with an assessment of the constitutional powers of the President, followed by an assessment of how the 20th century presidents of the U.S have been able to use institutional and political resources to overcome challenges brought about by weak constitutional presidential powers. Lastly, the essay will highlight on the likely future balance of power between the Presidents and the Congress. Constitutional powers of the President It is correct to argue that the ratification of the constitution resulted in the presidency having weak powers. According to Ginsberg et al., these constitutional powers of the President are spelt out in Article Two of the U.S constitution, which formally creates the executive arm of the central government that is made up of the President, the Vice President, and other presidential appointees. In particular, presidential powers are stated under section 2 of Article Two and they are split into three clauses (387-391). Clause 1 under Article Two gives the President exclusive powers over the U.S’ armed forces since the President is the Commander-in-chief. Furthermore, the clause states that the President shall become the Commander in Chief of militia of several states when he/ she is called into service. However, according to Ginsberg et al., this is power is weakened by the fact that it is only Congress, which can declare war (375). Nevertheless, this fact has been an issue of contention, more so during the Bush era, when President George Bush circumvented the Congress and seemingly declared war on Afghanistan while the Congress simply approved his decision. With reference to the writings by Ginsberg et al., it can be argued that Clause 1 is vague in the sense that during times of war there is usually no time to debate and wait for the Congress to declare war (403-405). Therefore, it can be assumed that the President is acting in the best interest of the Nation by declaring war at a strategic time. Under Clause 2, the President has powers to make treaties and nominate Judges of the Supreme Court, public Ministers, Ambassadors, and key Officers of the U.S. However, this power is watered down by the fact that the President must first seek the advice and consent from the senate before making any Treaty and nominations and there are instances where the senate has repealed certain treaties signed by Presidents (Ginsberg et al. 412-415). The third Presidential power is spelt out under Clause 3, which gives the President Powers to make a recess appointment that expires when the next session of the senate ends or until the appointee is confirmed by the senate. This Presidential power is also weakened by the fact that these appointments are not permanent and they are only made when the senate is on recess. How U.S Presidents in the 20th century have used institutional and political resources to overcome weakness of Presidential powers With references to the writings by Ginsberg et al., he noted that U.S Presidents in the 20th century as well as the 21st century have laid claim to certain inherent powers that they feel are intertwined with the powers that have been granted to them under Article Two of the constitution (Ginsberg et al. 423-428). Moreover, the Presidents have been able to lay claim on this inherent powers because the constitution is seemingly brief and generalized under Article Two, which leaves room for different interpretation. For example, Ginsberg et al. stated that in 1936 the Supreme Court and the Congress acknowledged the fact that the office of the presidency is conferred with “special prerogatives” concerning foreign affairs (578). This acknowledgement was made after the Supreme Court gave a ruling in 1963 that federal authority in foreign issues was far greater than Federal power in domestic issues thereby enabling Presidents to acquire more power on foreign issues than originally stipulated under Article Two (Ginsberg et al. 581-585). This is an example of how 20th Century Presidents used institutional resources (Judiciary) to overcome weaknesses presented by Article Two. Another way through which 20th century Presidents were able to gain more power is by ensuring the Federal government is responsible for the management of national economic policies and the management of foreign and defence policies. According to Ginsberg et al., these critical responsibilities have increased the scope of Presidential powers (435-438). For example, President Franklin Roosevelt, while trying to pull the country from the 1930s great depression used the responsibility of managing national economic polices to amass more power, which would see him give directions that no Americans should loose their home. In addition, together with the Secretary of the Treasury, Roosevelt was set to decide the price at which the Reconstruction Finance Corporation would buy gold periodically for the country’s reserve. In the writings by Ginsberg et al., it can also be noted that in the 20th Century, Presidents were able to overcome the challenges presented by their trimmed powers by making political appointments to critical institutions/ offices that had great influence. Subsequently, the Presidential appointees were supposed to ensure that the President’s interest is protected in the sense that Presidential directives were implemented without major hurdles. Secondly, U.S Presidents have continually relied in the strength of their party in order to overcome challenges presented by their weakened powers (555-562). For example, if a President comes from a party with majority members in both houses then he is able to easily implement policies, make treaties and even appointments without any hurdles and therefore, he is able to enjoy greater influence and power (Ginsberg et al. 367-368). Future balance of power between Presidents and Congress According to Ginsberg et al., the relationship between the presidency and the Congress since time in memorial has been keeping an ‘eye’ on each other (433-435). This is to say that the Congress through its capacity ensures there are checks and balances on the presidency while the President counter checks the Congress in a special manner. For example, the President counter-checks the Congress by using the Veto power and the Congress can counter-check the President by giving a 2/3 majority vote to repeal the presidential veto. Secondly, the President can present a bill such as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act commonly know as the Obamacare but it is the prerogative of the Congress whether the bill will be enacted or not. Thirdly, a President can make a treaty with another country but it will only become effective if 2/3 members of the Senate vote in favor of the treaty. This balance of power between the Presidents and the Congress is likely to continue in the future because if one arm of the government gains full control then there will be room for political manipulation and even abuse of power. According to Ginsberg et al., this balance of power between the Presidents and the Congress will continue to exist in the future because it is a key pillar of any democratic state, and in most occasions the balance of power exist to protect public interest (498-501). To ascertain that there is still likely to be a struggle in the balance of power between Presidency and Congress, one can refer to George Bush’s speech in 1988 when he said that congress will likely push him to increase taxes but he will relentlessly resist such pressure, perhaps to affirm that the Presidency is more powerful than the Congress. Nevertheless, to ensure smooth governance of the country, the future Presidents and Congress will have to develop a good working relationship whereby each arm of the government has an equal share in the decision-making process. Conclusion At the beginning of the essay, it was established that through the ratification of the constitution, the powers of the President were limited. However, the study has established that Presidents have in the past used institutional and political resources to gain inherent powers thus enabling them to sustain their relevancy and influence. Lastly, the study has stated that the balance of power between the Presidents and the Congress will still be present in the future in order to keep each arm of the government in check. Work Cited 1988: When Bush Said Read My Lips. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6tlyQ64r-o. Accessed on [26.07.2013] FDR Economic Recovery Plan, Fireside Chat #4 1933/10/23. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXY7TkrPPzI. Accessed on [26.07.2013] Ginsberg, Benjamin. Lowi, Theodore. Weir, Margaret. Tolbert, Caroline. and Spitzer, Robert. (2012). "We The People: An Introduction to American Politics. (9th Edition). New York: W. W. Norton & Company Read More